Deaerator and dirt separator



Oct. 16, 1951 A. F. UNDERwooD 2,571,503

DEERATOR AND DIRT SEPARATOR I Filed March 19, 1945 leiiii Z Patented Oct. 16, 1951 DEAERATOR AND DIRT sEBAnA'roR Arthur F. Underwood, Grosse Pointe, Mich., as-

signor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application March i9, 1945, serial No. 583,611'

l The separation of contained gas and of solid particles from a flowing liquid column is the subject of this invention.

It is'an object of the invention to cause the column of liquid moving under the influence of a pump to traverse a path of special form such that foreign matter is readily separated. Other objects such as' efliciency, simplicity and economy should be included.

The invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view in longitudinal section of the apparatus.

Fig. v2 is a section on line 2--2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal view of a modified form. Fig. 4 is a viewin section, the plane of the section being marked on Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a view corresponding to Fig. 3 but showing a second modification.

i Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 illustrate a rst form. A casing is designated by numeral 'I. To it is secured a cover 9. The casing is generally cylindrical butone end, its lower end as shown, is conical as at II and terminates in a tubular extremity I3. The cover is similarly conical and has a tubular terminal end I5 which provides an inlet lconduit of uniform internal cross section as shown in Figure 1. Within the casing and cover is an in- 2 Claims. (Cl. 18S- 2.5) l

ner plug I'I which may be hollow or solid and is shaped as shown to conform'to the casing and cover. The plug is formed with spiral vanes I9. The annular space between the plug and the casing is small. The total cross-sectional area may be substantially equal to the cross-sectional area of the tubular part of the cover at I5. The number of vanes need not be large, only enough to give a rotational motion to the fluid passing through the annular space. The space between the upper conical portion of the plug I'I and the upper conical portion 9 of the casing 'I provides a connecting portion between the inlet I5 and the spiral passage portion formed by the guides I9 between the cylindrical portion of the plug Il and the casing l. The space between the lower conical portion of the plug I'I and the lower conical portion II of the casing 'I provides a connecting portion between the spiral passage portion and the outlet or tubular extremity I3 which is connected to the separation tube 2I. As pointed out above the conical passage between the outer portion of the casing 'I or the spiral passage portion and the separation tube allows a substantial or approximately one-third reduction in diameter to increase the speed of rotation of the fluid. It is rshoulder is an outlet pipe 2'I.

2 suggested that the angle of the vanes be from 45 to to the axis.

To the tubular extension I 3 is threaded a tubular member 2I of uniform diameter. The end of the tubular member 2| remote from the casing is in Vthreaded engagement with a tubular outlet 23. Thus the tubular member 2l and the tubular outlet member 23 may be best described as a separation tube. At the junction of tubes 2I and 23 located adjacent the lower end of the separation tube the former may bev given an internal flare so that a shoulder 25 is formed. Adjacent this Tube 23 is formed with a lug or enlargement 29 having a bore 3| extended to the axis of the tube. A second outlet pipe 33 communicates with this bore 3|.

It will be understood that the tubular part I5 is the inlet for liquid and the axial passage from part 23 is in the outlet. If the apparatus is used for cleaning oil containing air and dirt, a pipe from any suitable oil pump may be connected at Y I5 and suitable conduit means leading .to bearings, for examplemay be connected at 23.

After entering at I5 the oil under pressure from the pump is forced through the annular passage and is given a rotational motion by the vanes. Upon reaching thefseparation tube, which is of much smaller diameter, the angular speed is greatly increased. Because of this great angular speed the relatively heavy particles are thrown to the'outside of the tube where they wash down to the-collector ring 25 -and `escape through pipe 21. Since the lliquid is spinning freely, no secondary flows occur as in the apparatus of some prior devices. Thus there is less tendency for the foreign matter to remain in suspension. Any contained gas in the liquid, tending, of course, to be in the axis of the rotating column, escapes through passage 3I. The oil, in this way freed from foreign matter, flows off through tube 23.

The eficiency depends upon the relative dimensions of the casing 1 and tube 2 I. The difierence should be as great as possible giving con sideration to the consequent pressure drop. Applying this theory to a practical structure as i1- lustrated in the drawing an elongated separation tube having a diameter substantially less than the diameter of said casing is employed.

In Figs. 3 and 4 there is shown a casing 4I having a cover 43. The separation tube 45 of this form is connected to the casing at 4l. A modied air and oil outlet member is marked 49. It is connected to the separation tube at 5I where any convenient form of dirt collector ring 53 is located from which ring the escape pipe 55 carries the heavy particles of dirt. The oil outlet ring I9 has an axial air escape passage 51 connected to an air pipe 59. The oil leaves at the opening marked 6 I. The oil enters the separator through the opening 63 which has a uniform diameter through its length and the terminal or connecting portion at the inside of the casing 4l as illustrated in Figure 3. The rotational flow of oil in this form is effected by a tangential opening 63 extending through the side wall of the casing Il. The oil, given the rotational movement in casing 4|, has its velocity increased in the smaller separation tube 45 and the foreign matter escapes as before by way of pipes 55 and 59.

Fig. 5 represents a form corresponding to that of Fig. 3 but differing in having a cover of different form. The cover 1| is threaded to casing 13.

It has a centrally depressed region at intended to cooperate with the tangential inlet passage 63 in elfecting the circumferential iiow of the fluid in the casing before it enters the separation tube 45. In other respects the form shown by Fig. 5 is like that of Fig. 3.

I claim:

1. A vortex separator for separating foreign matter from a flowing viscous liquid stream, said apparatus comprising an inlet conduit of uniform internal cross-sectional area, a casing having a smooth cylindrical internal side wall and end walls, connecting means between said condut'and said cylindrical casing having an internal area at least as large as said conduit to maintain constant velocity flow and thereby minimize friction losses, said inlet conduit and casing being so arranged to cause the fluid to rotate about the axis of said cylindrical casing, an elongated separation tube having a diameter substantially less than the diameter of said casing and having one end connected to said end wall of the casing concentric with said axis, said separation tube having a threaded joint adjacent the other end Vbetween an upper and lower portion, the upper portionof said separator tube being internally relieved at said joint to provide a dirt recess, the upper -edge of the lower portion of said separator tube having an outwardly tapered end to provide an outwardly sloped dirt collecting surface at the base of the recess, a laterally directed outlet pipe to drain dirt from the recess, a relatively small air outlet pipe in the center of said lower portion of said separator tube having the inlet centrally located just below the threaded joint said separator tube discharging the liquid free of dirt and air below said air outlet pipe.

2. A vortex separator for separating foreign matter from a flowing viscous liquid stream, said apparatus comprising an inlet conduit of uniform internal cross-sectional area, a casing having a smooth cylindrical internal side wall and end walls. said inlet conduit and casing being so arranged to cause the fluid to rotate about the axis of said cylindrical casing, an elongated separation tube having a diameter substantially less than the diameter of said casing and having one end connected to said end wall of the casing concentric with said axis, said separation tube having a threaded joint adjacent the other end, the upper portion of said separator tube being internally relieved at said joint to provide a dirt recess, the upper edge of the lower portion of said separator tube having an outwardly tapered end to provide an outwardly sloped dirt collecting surface at the base of the recess, a laterally directed outlet pipe to drain dirt from the recess, a, relatively small air outlet pipe in the center of said lower portion of said separator tube having the inlet centrally located just below the threaded joint said separator tube discharging the liquid free of dirt and air below said air outlet pipe.

ARTHUR F. UNDERWOOD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 702,795 Holmes June 17, 1902 1,301,544 Crombie Apr. 22, 1919 1,734,507 Westling et al Nov. 5, 1929 1,919,653 Hilll July 25, 1933 2,034,914 Lanser Mar. 24, 1936 2,187,646 Darrieus Jan. 16, 1940 2,277,651 Steele Mar. 24, 1942 2,301,371 Corwin Nov. 10, 1942 2,312,706 Freeman Mar. 2, 1943 2,316,729 Tryon Apr. 1.3, 1943 2,336,150 Horvath Dec. 7, 1943 2,346,005 Bryson Apr. 4, 1944 2,364,799 Laughlin et al Dec. 12, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 5,648 Great Britain Mar. 6, 1912 541,252 France July 25, 1922 801,001

France May 11, 1936 

